Sunday, December 7, 2014

The Little Man's Christmas Letter

Before I begin, I know that some of you don’t know
about me yet. These people call me The Little Man. Or sometimes Prince
Charming…I don’t mean to brag, but I charm most of the people I meet.

I came to stay with these people at the end of
August (my parents had some trouble
taking care of me so I am staying here until, well, I don’t know exactly how
long I’ll be here). Just to clarify, I call them “The Lady,” “That Man,”
and the 13yo and the 11yo. The lady and that man haven’t really told me what to
call them yet so that’s what I’m going with until they do.

And since I haven’t been with them for most of the
year, I’m not entirely sure why they asked me to write this letter…I figure
it’s because they can’t remember most of their year either so this way they
have an excuse for why stuff is missing.

Just blame the baby, apparently.

I will say, though, that they have mentioned
little bits of things and being that I am super-smartwith a somewhat advanced
vocabulary (in spite of the fact that I
am just 6 months old), I have held on to these bits of info and shall now
relay them to you.

First I will tell you about the two boring people
in the house:

That
Man and The Lady

That Mancontinues
to work in the same field at the same company, CMT. I don’t know what he does but he leaves most
days when it is dark out and gets home when it is dark out. He also coached the
11yo’s basketball team last winter and is coaching his team again this season.

In addition, he helped with several projects at
church this year, including (but not
limited to) painting, cleaning (think
“cleaning out/purging”…more than your cursory cleaning), and more painting.
And then some more painting. Let me put it this way…he wasn’t in charge of the
painting, but most people thought he was.

The Lady has been busy for the past few months
taking care of me and homeschooling the PBA. She has also been doing some
freelance writing this year for a couple local magazines. Her dad (who is a photographer) has taken all
the pictures for her stories, and even though she hasn’t admitted it to him,
she enjoys working with her dad. I can tell.

Over Easter week-end, the lady and that man had
their first foster kiddo placement that didn’t go so well. It was two little girls who had been in the system a few times and I think we can just leave it at that.

This fall, the lady and that man began a study
called “7: A Mutiny Against Excess” by Jen Hatmaker with their Hope Group from
church. In August (the first of 7 months),
they could only eat 7 foods for the month. Granted, they chose the foods,
but it still seems a little bit crazy. I mean, I only have one thing I ever get
to eat but still…when you have such an array of options, I really don’t know
why you would limit yourself. I think it had something to do with simplifying
their lives and being thankful for what they do have and considering people
around the world who have less than 7 foods to eat all the time…not just for a
month. I think that’s what they said, anyway…

They are currently on Month Four: Media, having
already done Month Two: Clothes (wearing
only 7 articles of clothing for the month…not including skivvies, workout
clothes and jammies, just in case you were wondering…oh, and apparently it’s
fun when you have an urpy baby in the
house too) and Month Three: Possessions (giving
away at least 7 possessions a day for the month, and being intentional about
where they are going instead of boxing it all up and sending it to Goodwill).

Give
them a call or send an email if you want to hear more about this craziness, or
any other craziness, in their lives.

The
13yo and The 11yo

The 13yo played basketball for the first time last
winter. Although he did a great job, he decided that playing organized ball is
not really for him; he will stick to shooting baskets at the gym just for fun.
He continues to excel at soccer, traveling the state for games and tournaments.
And this summer he experienced his first “overnight” camp at Camp Lakeview,
near Seymour, Indiana. He loved it and can’t wait to go back next year. He
turned 13 over the summer as well and suddenly he knew everything. I can’t wait
until I turn 13!

The 11yo played his fourth season of basketball
last winter and just began his fifth season a couple weeks ago . He plays
lacrosse too, which is only in the spring… I haven’t seen this game played yet
but it sounds a little dangerous. Boys running around a field with sticks they
can use to catch the ball and also hit each other with. On second thought, I
think I might be in! In February, he had 10 teeth (yes, you read that correctly) extracted (they were all baby teeth, but some were anklosed, which means the
roots had not dissolved and had actually fused to the jaw bone) and then he
got braces. He was confined to a Pacers
basketball daycamp this year, as the lady wasn’t ready to let him go away for a
week just yet. It might also be that the lady didn’t think Camp Lakeview was
ready for him. But I’m a little fuzzy on the details…I am only 6 months old,
you know.

Over the summer, the boys took a “Safe Sitter”
class offered through a local hospital. They learned basic first aid, CPR and
how to change a baby’s diaper. Lucky for them, I provided a much more accurate
version of a baby than those teddy bears they were using…I include wiggling,
rolling and grabbing my feet for an extra added challenge. They do a fabulous
job helping the lady and that man take care if me…I don’t think I could ask for
better brothers if they were my own flesh and blood.

The PBA began school at the end of July…yes, it
seemed early to me too, but these crazy homeschoolers decided to stay on the
same calendar as the public school kids…whatever “school” is.

And both boys began art lessons. The 13yo LOVES
them and the 11yo, well not so much. The lady says they are “a lesson in
humility” for him. I think she’s a really good mom.

Over Fall Break, they all went on vacation to
Hilton Head Island; I got to take my own little “trip” to stay with another
foster family. I think they had
fun…their skin was darker than mine before they went and it was REALLY dark (compared to mine, which isn’t saying a
whole lot b/c I am kinda, really pale…) when they got back.

The
Little Man

Let’s see…now to me. I was born in May but the Always
Random Family didn’t know about me until August. On the last day of their first month of “7” (actually as they were “celebrating” with
their Hope Group by indulging in some pizza), they got the placement call
for me. They had to go downtown and pick me up from the hospital…after, of
course, they had a lesson in how to feed me with an NG tube.

So I’ve been with them ever since. I see my mom a
few times a week and go to the doctor about once a week too, since I was less
than 10 pounds when they got me as a 3-month old…they have to make sure I am
growing as I should. I still haven’t figured out how to swallow without gagging
so I am having surgery next week to get my g-tube put in. They think I’ll be
able to figure out this whole “eating by mouth” business when I don’t have a
tube running down my throat all the time. I sure am interested in what other
people are eating, so maybe that will help me out too. I hate to ask, but
prayers for me would be greatly appreciated.

I think that covers all the basics. Now just to
wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

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Random Stuff About Me

I will be fostering (hence the blog name…see what I did there? No, not just a clever name b/c I am a foster care advocate; this technique is called a double-entendre…look at me teaching so much already. Perhaps I under-estimated myself and my educational abilities...) the woman I feel God has meant me to be: a writer, a sharer, a story-teller, a friend, a listener, a prayer-warrior and lots of other hopefully-funny, silly, and crazy things.